TUB 5: Huddersfield Heat

In this edition of the TUB 5 I talk to Huddersfield Heat Head Coach & CEO Eduardo Perez y Medina. We discuss grassroots hoops, the role of the EBL, offseason preparation and maintaining on-the-court success.

How much of an interest is there in basketball at grassroots level around Huddersfield and how do the Heat get involved in community hoops?

There is substantial grassroots interest in the area, and there is some good activity going on as we speak. We are looking to roll out a new community programme shortly, and one of its key aims is to engage local schools to start building a pathway for all basketball players to follow.

You’ve had many successful Heat alumni in the past, players like Chris Bigley who’ve gone on to play in the BBL. How do you view the role of EBL teams and is it difficult to have your most talent players poached by clubs in higher divisions?
I guess it depends on what your ambition is for your organisation. Some clubs, in particular in EBL 3 and 4, are quite happy to compete year in, year out and will never look to progress further than that. We want to be the best club possible, and we have objectives and ambitions to reflect that. With regard to the players: look, it happens, talented players if given further opportunities will look to progress in the same way we would as a club. As for the EBL, the UK needs a solid, well-defined structure, and each level should support the next, with the pinnacle being access to the top tier. I think we are probably some way away from that yet in this country.

Following on from that, how do the Heat go about scouting and recruiting players? If there’s a young baller out there wanting to showcase their skills in the EBL, what’s the best route for them to take?

We are establishing quite a wide scouting and recruitment network, in particular in Spain, so I would say our hard work results in us finding the very best players each year for our resources. In terms of a young player, well I would say it depends on the club in the first instance. Some, such as Bristol or Manchester, have very good junior development programmes and those are great pathways for young players to join. Other clubs will host trials, or even give individual trial periods to players who contact the club directly, so it really does vary. In our case, although we recruit, we will always get back to anyone who contacts us about potentially playing.

You had a brilliant season last year, finishing with a record of 19-3 in Group North of the EBL Div 3. How can you maintain that level of play heading into the 2013-14 season? How has the club spent the offseason?

The club has been working hard on and off the court over the summer, to further our plans. We have a major project in the pipeline which will go fully public around September, hopefully, which will be big news for basketball in the UK; a lot of hard work is going into that at the moment. We've also been putting the finishing touches to the new roster for the next season and, based on the quality and level of players we have been able to sign up, if we work as hard as we did last year, and show the same attitude, we will be fine this coming season.

You’re set to face the reigning BBL champions Leicester Riders in a pre-season friendly. Aside from a great game of basketball for the fans, what are you hoping to gain from the experience?

I think it sets a marker for our progress. We want to be the best we can be, and what better test than to play what is in my opinion the top club in the UK at this moment. We're going to be up against great players and a great coach, but we welcome that kind of challenge. All my guys are really looking forward to this, and it's really got them excited about the coming season now.

TUB 5: Donald Sampley (East Scotland Warriors)

TUB Blog Editor Vicky Cox talks hoops, success, support and homegrown talent with Donald Sampley, owner of the East Scotland Warriors. The newly confirmed BBL franchise is set to begin play in 2014/15.

What made you want to set up a BBL franchise and how did you go about doing so? How long has the process been up until this point and what criteria did you have to fulfil for the BBL to accept the Warriors into the league?

This began three years ago after a social trip to Glasgow to visit a friend, it did not start out as a BBL venture. During that trip, my friend was called away for work and I was left to explore Scotland on my own. I reached out to a few clubs about training which led me to attend a few training sessions in Glasgow and in Edinburgh. I also worked in a youth camp with the Rocks and attended their open free-agent session. To make a long story short, I was inspired by the passion for the game and the eagerness to learn the players displayed during training and I wanted to be a part of it in some form. I explored coaching opportunities, which were few and far between, so I decided to look into the possibility of creating a skills academy, which then led to exploring a BBL franchise bid.

Given that Edinburgh has previously had a BBL franchise (Edinburgh Rocks 1998-2002), and the BBL aren’t afraid to withdraw less successful teams from the league (i.e. Mersey Tigers), how will you ensure that this franchise is more sustainable than the last and is there room for two BBL clubs in Scotland?

There is definitely room for two BBL franchise teams. This will grow the sport in Scotland, a sport that is already increasing its youth participation figures every year. As for the Rocks leaving and Mersey withdrawing, I do not know the backstories of either situation. However, I plan to grow East Scotland through community outreach. I stated before that I would love to have an all-Scottish team on the floor. This can only be done through skill development, which involves youth participation in the Warriors Skills Academy. So to be sustainable we must have community support. Without that support no franchise could exist.

You’ve made a conscious effort to name the franchise the East Scotland Warriors, rather than the Edinburgh Warriors, in a bid to maximise support for the club. How do you hope to engage fans outside the capital and make them feel a part of the Warriors franchise?

I have received both praise and push back over the name East Scotland Warriors, I appreciate the praise and I couldn't care less about the push back! The fact is we represent a franchise area that covers all the communities in East Scotland, and we plan to reach out to coaches and clubs in those communities to identify player prospects and share ideas on how to grow the sport. We will travel to different communities in East Scotland to host skill-development camps and coaching workshops, and our door is always open for those coaches to come to Edinburgh to attend Academy events and BBL training. Our home is in Edinburgh, but Aberdeen, the Scottish Borders and every other community in between cannot be left out of our plans to grow the sport.

You’ve been quoted as saying that you want the Warriors to be an all-Scottish team. How do you plan to achieve a balance between promoting local talent and attaining on-the-court success, given that many of the top teams employ overseas players?

Developing enough players to compete in the UK's premiere basketball league without using imports  will take time. Developing elite players is a marathon, not a sprint! I want the youth of Scotland to aspire to be the next Rose Anderson or Kieron Achara, but until we can develop that type of player we will need to look at all options available when the time comes to sign players.

There’s obviously a lot of work that needs doing between now and the Warriors’ debut BBL game in 2014/2015. Can you give a brief summary of what you’ll be doing over the next year and what basketball fans in Scotland can expect over the coming months?

The first task is to get to Edinburgh! I am currently finishing the visa process and I plan on arriving in mid-August. From there I will identify a coach, meet with community and corporate leadership, and set up the East Scotland Warriors Skills Academy. We are currently building our website, however people can join our newsletter at warriorsbbl.co.uk.